Here
is the Shôden, the main sanctuary, the holiest of holies. The figure
of the priest gives you a sense of the great size of the building, comparable
to a modern four-storey structure. As with everything at Ise, its proportions
have been carefully refined over the years, and the workmanship is impeccable,
making it probably the most carefully crafted wooden building in the world
today. Although we can study its exterior through photographs like this,
the contents of the Shôden remain a mystery to outsiders. Historical
records, however, give us a number of clues, singling out two objects of
special importance. One of these is housed in the wooden cage which you
see underneath the raised floor in the center of the building.